Kelly's OT goal caps off fight-filled win over Washington

With Braden Holtby caught out of position, Chris Kelly buried the
game-winner late in overtime for the Bruins. (Photo: Dave
Arnold/New England Hockey Journal)

Final: Boston 3, Washington 2 (OT)

Recap: After a scoreless first period, it took
Washington until the midway point of the game to fire just their
third shot on goal, but that particular bid found twine with rookie
Connor Carrick tallying for the Caps. The B's finished the second
period with a dominant, 23-6 edge in shots and were able to even
things up before the intermission.

Zdeno Chara went to the spot he's frequented during the Bruins'
man advantages this preseason -- right in front of the net -- and
tipped a shot by Dennis Seidenberg past Braden Holtby to make it
1-1 with 1:38 left in the middle frame.

The B's captain struck again early in the third, but the
Capitals were able to tie things up when a Michael Latta shot
squeaked through sprawled-out defenders and past Tuukka Rask, with
Martin Erat -- perhaps undeservedly -- getting credit for the goal
with 14:22 left in regulation.

In the extra session, a Matt Bartkowski shot ricocheted off a
defender and landed on Chris Kelly's stick. Holtby was out of
position, and No. 23 fired it home into the open net for the
game-winner.

Connolly's Commendations: Great game all around
for a Bruins defense that continues to be highly involved on the
score sheet. Chara potted two goals, Seidenberg had a pair of
assists and Bartkowski's now tied for second among all NHLers with
five assists during the preseason.

Most important of all, however, was the group's superb ability
to keep the Capitals from getting shots on net. Washington finished
with just 14 in 63:39 of action, which included five power plays
for the visitors.

Kudos to Rask for not falling asleep at any point in the first
30-plus minutes of play. In fact, I don't even think you could be
angry if Carrick's goal to open the scoring awoke the Bruins'
netminder from a nice nap.

Down the other end of the rink, Holtby was mighty sharp for the
Caps and looked to be in midseason form. He yielded three
unstoppable goals and finished the night with 35 saves.

Connolly's Critiques: The Bruins dominated
every facet of the game, shy of the scoreboard, so it's hard to
think of anything worth complaining about -- especially when this
is the preseason, after all.

Notes: It's been a fight-filled exhibition
season for the National Hockey League and that trend continued
Monday at TD Garden. There were a total of five bouts on the night.
Johnny Boychuk, Nick Johnson, Milan Lucic, Adam McQuaid and Kevan
Miller all dropped the gloves for Boston. If "Kelly beat Holtby in
overtime" sounded familiar, don't forget that No. 23 buried the
winner in the extra session of Game 1 of the first-round series
between these two clubs in 2012. It was Holtby's first career
playoff start.

Final Thoughts: Boston's lineup boasted more
full-fledged NHLers than Washington's, but it was an encouraging
showing at both ends of the rink for the Black and Gold, who
overcame an early deficit and didn't allow the Capitals to steal a
game they seemingly had no business winning.